Belbin catches fire to set his ninth course record

Royal Mayfair’s associate pro makes five consecutive birdies on back nine to win PGA Tour championship

Royal Mayfair’s Mike Belbin lines up a putt at the Stony Plain Golf Course in 2008.

Photograph by: Walter Tychnowicz Walter Tychnow
, Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - Like a dentist’s office or a night club, Royal Mayfair’s Mike Belbin had all the shots in the 36-hole Alberta PGA’s Fletcher Tour championship played at the Blackhawk Golf Club.

Belbin had it all while firing off a course-record 6-under 65 that included five straight birdies over a tough stretch of holes on the back nine in Wednesday’s final round. He made 300-plus-yard drives, wedges from knee-high fescue to 10 feet, 286-yard three-woods, and putts that slithered and snaked their way into some treacherous pin placements on Blackhawk’s dragstrip greens.

“I had a feeling I could shoot a good score,” said Belbin, whose two-day total of 137 was four shots better than his closest rival, Calgary’s Brett Burgeson.

“I love this course; it’s in perfect shape. I knew I could make some birdies and I knew that my game was real close to being really good,” said Belbin, who was just coming off a victory in the Waskesiu, Sask., pro-am — a tournament his late father started 28 years ago — where he shot back-to-back 64s, which were also course records.

“I’ve been banging on the door, banging on the door. I’ve had three seconds in APGA Tour events this year — at Sturgeon Valley, Calgary’s Silver Springs, and then in a playoff at Lewis Estates — and then a fourth-place finish at Calgary’s Elks club, so it was nice to finally get a win.”

In a tournament which brought together the top 50 players on the APGA’s Order of Merit, Calgary’s Jamie Kureluk (142) finished alone in third place. Three other Calgarians — Kyle Wade, Tyler LeBouthillier and Gord Courage — tied for fourth at 144 while Edmonton Riverside’s Chris Toth (147) was alone in seventh.

Courage, LeBouthillier, Burgeson, Wade and Belbin were all within two strokes of one another after Wednesday’s front nine. But then Belbin, who started the day three-shots behind first-round leader Courage, blew it wide open.

On the par-5 11th hole, the 2010 APGA player of the year chipped to three feet for his first of five straight birdies. On No. 12, a 216-yard par 3 into the wind, he hit a four-iron to eight feet. He hit driver/wedge to 12 feet on No. 13. One hole later, he hit his wedge tight from the tall rough for another birdie before hitting that 286-yard three-wood to 20 feet on No. 15, barely missing his eagle putt.

“I’ve got hot plenty of times before, but I don’t think I’ve ever had five straight birdies before.”

It was almost a seven-hole birdie barrage.

“I missed a short five-foot putt on No. 10 and, on No. 16, I thought I made that putt; it rolled right over my spot but just stopped on the lip,” said Belbin, who won the Tour Championship for the second time and continues to prove he is easily one of the best — if not the best — golfers in Alberta.

“Not to sound too brash or anything, but I played the way I should play,” he said.

Belbin said the wedge from the fescue on No. 14 was his best shot of the day.

“I had a pretty good lie and it came out like I was hitting it from the fairway. I have to admit, it was a pretty good shot.”

Belbin, who won last year’s Canadian assistants championship at Cherry Hills near Niagara Falls and who will try to make it two straight victories in a couple of weeks at Jasper, didn’t come into Wednesday’s final round on a high note.

In Tuesday’s first round, he finished double-bogey, bogey. Then he made a bogey on the third hole Wednesday.

“I said to myself that I wasn’t going to make another bogey and I didn’t,” said Belbin.

He said the key to his fine play was hitting his driver well again.

“I broke my go-to TaylorMade R11S driver and, for some reason, I had a lot of trouble getting comfortable with the other drivers I tried. It’s only been in the last couple of weeks that I’ve had confidence in my driver and starting driving the ball good again.”

The course record is Belbin’s ninth. As well as at Blackhawk and Waskesiu, he holds the course records at Glendale (63), Country Hills (67) on the tough Talon layout, Cardiff (63), Leduc (63), Carstairs (63), Mill Woods (61) and Broadmoor (62).

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